Introduction

Every individual in this world endeavors to achieve “happiness” and “tranquility and struggles day and night to reach this dream in the fields of’ life which appear like war arenas. He fights in this field willingly in most cases to sacrifice everything in order to witness the bird of happiness fly over his head so he may live beneath its shadow the rest of his life.

It is unfortunate to see many individuals possessing various talents which qualify them to lead a life of happiness and satisfaction subjected to different factors which make their souls a toy for discomfort and insecurity.

As a result, these individuals fall victim to the untrue dream that living happily is nothing but mere fiction, and that man’s inevitable conclusion is to become a straw being tossed around by the fictitious waves of pain ending up on the bottom of the grave of disillusion and poverty.

These pains and sufferings are not but the result of choosing false images over facts and realities. They have not followed that light of righteousness, nor have they resorted to a reliable segment on the path of life Surely the reflections of the images which are drawn in the minds of men in the sea of waves of anxieties and their lonely goals and unrealistic hopes are the factors to blame for bringing mankind out of light into darkness and making them subject to confusing hardships.

Man, who is the highest creature, is made of two distinguished powers, the spiritual power and the mechanical power. In addition to the material characteristics which he shares with animals, man has many spiritual needs, which If fulfilled give him a very great chance of reaching perfection. Whenever one of these two sides of man becomes more powerful than the other the late becomes weaker and hence is defeated.

In light of the just mentioned fact, it is worthy to notice that industry has truly changed the features of life. The industrial advancement, together with the puzzling changes in the various aspects of life have explained many ambiguous uncertainties, and solved countless difficult questions.

Thus, many parts of the universe from the depth of the seas to the darkness of space became fields for man’s journeys and discoveries. On the other hand, the spiritual needs of man became weakened; corruption appeared on the land and seas as a result of the crimes he committed in the numerous corners of life. The number of disasters and inhuman crimes has reached unbelielevels.

The factors of salvation have become weak in front of the phenomenon of corruption and social disorder. The remains of spirituality are burning in the midst of the fires of lust, loneliness and filth

Today we clearly observe that material gains have taken priority over virtue.

Man has equipped himself with the tools of industry and experimental sciences and has abandoned the good merits which are expected and needed to guard his soul from being destroyed under the feet of the evilness of lust and uncontrolled wants. Even human emotions are in a state of struggle between life and death.

Lying, stinginess, hypocrisy, oppression, selfishness and other lowly characteristics, all resembling an invincible dam blocking the stream of human happiness and perfection, have chained the hands of man and thrown him in the merciless waves of the ocean of relentless filth.

The triumph of the knights, loneliness, individual pains, social disasters and various miseries in general, are the result of the fall of human virtues. Both Sociologists and psychologists attest to the fact that without excellent virtues and spiritual guidance man would wander from the path of justice which leads him to peak of greatness and perfection.

Individuals who excel in society and whose names are recorded in bold letters by history all enjoy some sort of pure and appreciated virtues. Societies which are not armed with the weapon of good manners are not ruled by worthy rules and do not, in fact, deserve to live as a human body.

It is for this reason that the destruction of previous great civilizations did not take place because of political or economical crisis but from a bankruptcy of good manners.

Man-made legislation and systems are unable to penetrate the human soul nor can they guarantee constructive relationships between the different societies and nations the same way spiritual manners do. Manmade laws, which are manifestations of human ideas, are not qualified to bring authentic happiness to mankind, this is because men have a limited thinking capacity.

Thus, they cannot conceive all of the phenomena surrounding their lives. Moreover, even if man knows the depth of the phenomenon surrounding him he is always subjected to outside influences which prevent him from accepting the truth. In light of the above, we observe that man-made laws, change with time and their surrounding conditions. In fact, the appearance of corruption and miseries are not but the result of the shortcomings of such laws.

On the other hand, we have the sacred school of the prophets which is inspired by the magnificent springs of the lights of revelation and depends on unlimited Divine knowledge. Thus, these laws are not vulnerable to the tides of time, change, or transformation.

Because of its comprehension of the realities of life and existence, the prophetic school offers humanity the most accurate system for reaching perfection and moral excellence, and calls man to direct his soul to greatness.

The positive and appreciated effects of faithfulness on man are undisputable, for it is clear that if man did not possess an internal motive to prevent him from making himself a victim of his lusts and unlimited wants, then any step he took towards, righteousness would mean certain failure. Hence, it is impossible to establish a safe and perfect human society, without equipping the human members with morality and spirituality.

The basics on which the eternal Islamic faith was built by the greatest personality of all times, Prophet Muhammad (S), and which rely from the very first day on piety are those means of happiness that can bring comfort in this world and the hereafter.

In fact, the Islamic call was built on the bases which requires man to evaluate his spiritual value to the highest point by elevating the level of his beliefs to a chain of pure and praiseworthy values. Islam strictly prohibits man from sacrificing his excellent morals for the sake of his lusts and cravings. Islam stands in the face of those who dishonor humanity and fights them fiercely.

So a society where in the individual and social ties are built on Islamic values enjoys tranquility, comfort and trust in all aspects. All its members enjoy equal rights, and observe the interpersonal relations set by the faith. Thus, giving other societies the opportunity to achieve the same, which is a perfect step towards a great civil revolution by mankind.

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In this book, we introduce some of the vital issues affecting man’s social life and how Islam deals with them.

It is incumbent on me to mention here that a section of this book was previously published in the magazine The Islamic Ideology which is published in Persian in the holy city of Qum. I leave it to our honorable readers to judge the value of this book which has been praised by many scholars.

I hope that we all advance in promoting ourselves on the path of the Islamic scholars, and by rescuing our souls from drowning in the filth of unguided lusts.

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